by Yoon Cannon | Business Growth Tips Blog, Marketing and Sales Blog Posts
Networking is a crucial skill every entrepreneur should develop that can help you grow your business. But, many small business owners avoid networking thinking it requires schmoozing and slick selling. Successful networking is actually the opposite.
Here is what I have found to be the top three business networking mistakes. And, don’t feel bad if you’ve made any of these mistakes. Many of us have once made these same mistakes too. Let’s just focus on which one might be hurting your business and get to work on fixing them to start seeing positive results from your business networking.
Networking Mistakes #1. Using your 30 second commercial to recite a long list of all your services.
How do you answer the question, what do you do?
I’ve watched people’s eyes glaze over many times as they try to process the long list of services the business owner is rattling off. Here are a couple examples:
BEFORE Example 1:
“I am the owner of ABC Natural Healing Center. We offer: acupuncture, chiropractic care, Myofascial release, NAET, Neuro Emotional Technique, Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy, Reiki and yoga classes. Come in for an appointment at our offices in Anytown.”
Yikes! Most people probably don’t even know what half those things are!
How about this example:
BEFORE Example 2:
“I am a business coach. I offer personal one on one phone coaching, group coaching, training courses, mastermind programs, marketing consulting and speaking engagements. I also have a free newsletter and I offer free webinars and business coaching discovery consultations.”
Why this does not work effectively.
Solution: Tell people who you help and what specific problems you solve.
AFTER Example 1:
“I am the owner of ABC Natural Healing Center. We help kids and adults recover quickly from sports injuries, back pain, headaches, insomnia, anxiety and many other chronic symptoms without using pharmaceutical drugs or surgery.”
My Own AFTER Example 2:
“I am a business growth expert. I help solo entrepreneurs and small business owners recover quickly from sales slumps, scattered focus and overwhelm. I can help you create and hit the right business goals in 90 days or less.”
Networking Mistakes #2. Focusing on converting customers at networking events.
If you evaluate whether a particular networking event was a good or bad use of your time based on whether you made a sale or picked up an immediate referral you are probably focused on the wrong goal. Objectives for networking events are different than for trade shows.
First, understand It’s not your fault.
- It’s only natural as a business owner to want to see immediate results from your networking efforts. After all, much of your success was due to your unbridled commitment to being results focused.
- You invested several hours to attend the networking event, so of course you feel as if you should get something from your time.
Why is this a networking mistake? … Because that’s not how people buy.
Solution: Focus on making new friends not just new clients.
Since you are networking to grow your business, it might feel contrarian to NOT focus on getting new clients out of it. But, if you’re trying too hard it shows. People can feel when someone is looking at them as just their next sale.
In order for networking to be successful, you do need to connect with people. Be genuine and sincere in making new friends. That’s not to say you should be passive and avoid talking about your business at all. But, first, focus on just being yourself, and not just you the “company” or you the “sales person”.
Years ago I attended an evening networking event for coaches. I was taken aback by a woman who sharply interrupted a conversation I was having with another attendee. Without any announcement or waiting for a pause for permission she shoved a flyer in our hands and told us to sign up for her certification training today because the $2,000 price expires tomorrow.
Here are key reasons why this tactic doesn’t work:
- Her sale offer was to spend $2,000 today, but $2,000 is not an impulse buy price point.
- The problem wasn’t so much that she handed me a flyer. The problem was how clear she made it she was on a mission to leave with lots of sales.
There were about 80 people at the event. Instead of leaving with 1 or 2 sales, she could have easily left with 50 to 70 new subscribers, especially because this was such a targeted group of people. Over time, she could convert 25 to 45 new customers which is far more valuable to her business than the immediate 1 or 2 sales.
This is a much easier networking strategy, but it does require having a list building system.
Networking Mistakes #3. Not having a list building system.
What is a list?
- This is an email list of people who are potential customers and clients who are subscribed to be on your email list.
- You can not simply take the email addresses off of business cards or directories of people you met and put them on your list. That is actually against the CANSPAM laws.
Why have an email list?
You may have heard the expression, the “fortune is in the follow up.”
The problem is it’s really hard to keep up with the follow up when you’re taking the manual approach of sending one email at a time. A list building system makes follow up a cinch.
What is a list building system?
- It starts with having an irresistible, free lead magnet.
- A lead magnet is a free offer people receive instantly when they opt in with their email address.
- You let subscribers know they will also receive more tips from you through email.
- You stay top of mind and convert more clients over time when you follow up with valuable tips you deliver through your email system.
Remember, 10 new subscribers is worth far more to your business than 1 new sale.
SOLUTION: Shift your focus from getting more sales to getting a more subscribers.
It takes time to build trust and confidence. When you have a subscriber list you can scale building a relationship with your group of prospects.
Networking is one of multiple marketing tactics you need to have included in your marketing plan today. Be sure to grab my free printable MARKETING CHECKLIST to develop your winning marketing plan today.
QUESTION: Share your comments. What is getting in your way of creating a list building system for your business and networking?
© Copyright 2022
by Yoon Cannon | Marketing and Sales Blog Posts
Did you know the average time visitors spend looking at a website is less than 8 seconds? And for many websites it’s even as low as just 3 or 4 seconds.
That’s not a whole lot of time to capture their attention, interest and desire to inspire visitors to take action in becoming a lead.
If you’re ready to transform your small business website from being a cost center into a client generating profit center then use the following 7 most common website mistakes as your checklist to grading your website performance.
These are the 7 most common reasons why website visitors could be aborting your site and moving on to your competitors.
Here’s a rundown of what your website visitors could be thinking and how to fix it.
Reason #7. I have no idea what you do.
This happens when your copy is not specific enough, especially when the name of the business does not instantly define what you do.
Does your tagline clearly explain what you do and who you help?
Here are some actual examples of confusing taglines I found on my tour of websites:
X “Finding paths of opportunity”
X “Envisioning the future”
X “ We’re a new company and we like to have fun while working smartly, efficiently,
and while constantly innovating.”
X “Looking at information in new ways”
Hmmm… so would you get what any of those businesses do based on these taglines?
Reason #6. You sound like everyone else.
It’s important to keep in mind that the website visitors who are in the market to hire someone like you are most likely checking out a number of your competitors.
So, it’s not enough for you to state the obvious.
For example, if you’re a builder / remodeler it’s not enough for your website to simply tell people you do design and installation for kitchens, baths and additions.
Why not? … Because isn’t that what all builders and remodelers offer too?
Remember, you’ve got less than 8 seconds. You want to articulate your wow factor and stand out.
RELATED ARTICLE: 5 Steps for Small Businesses to Stand Out
Reason #5. This looks like a student created your site.
You know the saying that you never get a second chance to make a great first impression.
If your website design looks sloppy and unprofessional it projects to your visitors that your services are probably sloppy and unprofessional too. It pays to hire a skilled web designer who has the graphic design abilities you may lack.
And for business owners on a tight budget there’s lots of great templates today that can quickly transform an ugly website into a gorgeous, professional looking site.
Reason #4. It’s too hard to read your website.
Why make it difficult for visitors to read what’s on your webpages? if you don’t make it easy they will be gone quicker than you can say goodbye.
Check your site for poor readability:
- Fancy font styles that are too hard to read.
- Crazy colors — like pastel blue lettering on bright green background.
- Long chunky, verbose paragraphs.
- Messed up formatting when trying to view from mobile devices.
- Tiny font sizes that make people strain their eyes to read.
Reason #3. You’re not talking to me, personally.
When you’re trying to promote your business it’s easy to fall into the trap of making the copy all about you and how great you are. But, taking this “brochure style” approach doesn’t really grab the prospect’s attention because people just really care about themselves … hence, why people leave so many websites in 5 seconds.
Be sure your headlines, your sub headlines and home page copy really jump out talking about the specific problems and challenges your prospect struggles with.
So …
- If you’re a chiropractor, what’s the downsides they’ve experienced having tried other chiropractors
- If you’re a caterer, what do other caterers not do as well as you and your team?
- If you’re a financial consultant for family run businesses what is unique about your process that solves their cash flow problems faster and easier?
Take a good look at the words on your website. Are they sweeping generalities? Are you using words and catchphrases that could literally describe businesses in many other industries?
Reason #2. I didn’t get a sense of trust and credibility.
Remember, before you can win their business you must first win their trust that you truly are the go to expert in your field.
Here’s some common some common mistakes that could be hurting your trust factor:
- Lack of compelling client testimonials from real people (not just first name last initial.)
- No blog to educate readers.
- No picture and bio of you the owner.
- No Picture and bio of your team if you have one.
- No social proof.
When you have all these things people stay longer on your website and while doing so increases their trust.
Reason #1. I don’t see a reason to keep in touch.
It’s hard to expect a new visitor to become a customer after only spending 8 seconds on your website.
That’s like expecting someone to agree to marry you after just meeting you at a social for eight seconds.
This is why it’s so important to immediately grab your visitor’s attention with a relevant, irresistible free offer that they are willing and excited to give you their email address for.
TIP: signing up for your free newsletter is not a terribly effective free offer.
Instead, here is an example of a relevant, irresistible offer:
FREE DOWNLOAD:
QUESTION: Which of these 7 common website mistakes do you struggle with the most? Share with us in the comments below!
Are you looking for expert help right now to start generating more leads from your website? If so, I’d like to invite you to book a complimentary discovery coaching call with me here.
by Yoon Cannon | Marketing and Sales Blog Posts, Business Growth Tips Blog
Making an impact on social media is not an easy task especially if you do not have any social media tips from renowned experts. If you think about it, an average user’s timeline/feed gets updated with thousands of posts in an hour. This number increases drastically when users search for popular keywords. Businesses of all sizes have adopted social media platforms to get noticed. If you’re looking to stand out on social media, here are 12 expert tips to help you out:
Social Media Tips #1: Get inspired from your competitors’ content.
Social media expert and founder of RazorSocial, Ian Cleary, reckons that getting inspiration from your competitors’ content is the key to resonating with your customers. Don’t copy, get inspired and think about different angles. Different unique angles also increases the potential virality of your content.
Social Media Tips #2: Be memorable
Social media marketing guru, Jeff Bullas, says that a brand has to be memorable in order to be noticed on social media. All the text and visual content has to be high quality. Constant promotion is also the key. This will help businesses grow their audience as people are more likely to share your content.
Social Media Tips #3: Don’t try to use all platforms
Founder of the Content Marketing Institute, Joe Pulizzi, says that small businesses need to have a clear social media channel. He urges brands to not make the mistake of trying to use as many platforms as possible. By focusing on 2-3 social media platforms, businesses can post better content and keep track of their results more accurately.
Social Media Tips #4: Re-purpose more popular social media posts into blogs.
Ted Rubin
is a renowned social media strategist, speaker and author. By using popular social media posts for blog posts, the potential virality of your posts increases greatly and the interest among your audience is peaked.
Social Media Tips #5: Create high quality visual content
Neal Schaffer, a business social media expert, notes that pictures are a prominent part of social media. Brands that use high quality images to supplement their posts, capture their audience’s attention and turns them from random viewers into loyal readers.
Social Media Tips #6: Be consistent at posting your blogs.
Kissmetrics Founder and expert blogger, Neil Patel, has observed that brands do not need to have unique content but consistency is a must. Consistency will help you get more traffic and consequently more leads.
Social Media Tips #7: Micro-opportunities
Jay Bear, marketing expert and author, recommends looking into “micro- opportunities.” These opportunities are very small time periods when your audience is most likely to be on social media. For example, if you’re target audience involves businessman then posting between average meeting times will get their attention. Small businesses that are B2B can use this system to get more views.
Social Media Tips #8: Hire content writers who are passionate about your field
Kim Garst, CEO of Boom Social, advises that those in charge of creating content have to be passionate about their field. When a marketer or writer is passionate, it shows in their work and becomes contagious. Users will like and share your content on their own channels and thus your content will reach more people.
Social Media Tips #9: Establish a consistent brand in all your social media images.
Canva founder, Zach Kitschke, says brands have to establish a visual style that is recognizable by their audience. To do this, consistent use of the same fonts, colors, logos etc are required. Every image doesn’t have to be the same but the tone has to remain consistent. When users start to recognize your visual style, they can spot your content more easily in a flood of social media updates.
Social Media Tips #10: Join the discussions on social media.
Mike Volpe, HubSpot CMO, recommends joining communities and taking part in discussions when brands first get on social media. Meaningful discussions will drive people to check out your account and consequently your website.
Social Media Tips #11: Share great advice on social media.
Adam Connell, an expert blogger, asks businesses to lend a helping hand without expecting any returns. By offering solutions to your users’ most common problems for free, you build trust and loyalty. Great advice will turn readers into potential customers.
Social Media Tips #12: Follow key influencers.
Marko Saric, founder of HowToMakeMyBlog, advises that rather than randomly following people on social media, businesses should target peers and influential members in the industry to bring attention to their own blog/brand.
Start using these social media tips in your marketing plan today.
Be sure to grab my free printable MARKETING CHECKLIST for SERVICE-BASED BUSINESS OWNERS.
by Yoon Cannon | Business Growth Tips Blog, Marketing and Sales Blog Posts
Everywhere you look, there are so many success stories of other small business owners who started from a simple idea to create a thriving, profitable business they love. Their big achievements can make entrepreneurship look so easy, but the truth is they all went through a series a learning curves and had to overcome real challenges along the way.
If you’re not where you want to be in your business, you’ve got to first decide you are going to do something different to change. After all, if you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.
[Definition of insanity]: Doing the same thing while expecting a different outcome.
So, how do you get from where you are in your small business to where you want to be Here are 6 simple steps you can take action on today to get you closer to creating a thriving and profitable business you love.
How to Get From Where You Are in Your Business to Where You Want to Be
1. Write down your dream outcome goal and your why.
If you want to transform your business you’re going to have to make some changes. But, change is hard because it requires you to get out of your comfort zone. It’s even harder to
change if you aren’t super clear what you’re doing it for. That’s why it’s super important to paint a very specific picture of what your dream outcome goal looks like.
It’s not enough to say you want to grow your business to give your family a better life. Use the SMART goal method to help you be more specific. (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timebound).
Here’s an excerpt from what I wrote down in 1998 when I was starting a new business and starting our family at the same time.
| Dream Outcome Goal – SMART | WHY? |
| Get my new business to generate half a million a year in revenues within the first 3 years. | That was the number that would pay the bills, maintain cash flow for the business and pay off my mortgage to be debt free. |
| Do this while working part time (15-20 hours per week) by year 3. | Having grown up with parents who both worked overtime every week (because they had to) I desperately did not want to miss out on those special toddler years with my own kids. |
With God’s help I was able to hit my two dream outcome goals by year 4. I know I would have definitely not hit these goals if I stated it in general terms like “I want to make more money and work less than I do now while making an impact in people’s lives”. Writing down specific target numbers I wanted to hit and what was at stake for me (my WHY) helped me stay laser focused.
2. Write down 3 things you know you should START doing and start doing them.
Pretty profound stuff isn’t it? I find with all of us, there are a lot of little basic common sense kind of stuff that we all know in the back of our minds that we should do. The first thing that keeps us from doing it is because we aren’t writing it down. If it’s something important enough to do, it’s important enough to write down. It reminds us to get it done. After all, knowing what to do never changes anything. We have to actually execute.
So, go ahead and write down all the easy stuff you know you should do. If you’re lacking energy it might be as basic as drink 64 oz of water every day, do a 30 min exercise routine every Tues-Thurs-Sat. and eat more fruits and veggies each day. If you know you should delegate more because you’re working way too many hours, then start delegating 5 hours of tasks off your plate or even just 1 to 2 hours to start.
3. Write down 3 things you know you should STOP doing and stop doing them.
If you’re not where you want to be in your business there’s something you’re doing wrong and you need to stop doing it. Because whatever you’re doing is not taking you where you want to be.
Here’s a short list of what some of my small business clients have shared with me they know they should stop doing:
- Stop doing your own bookkeeping. Hire one.
- Stop being a perfectionist. It’s making tasks take way more time than it needs to take.
- Stop doing repetitive tasks. Start automating it.
- Stop working “in” the business, so you can work “on” the business each day.
- Stop saying yes to everything. Protect your time.
- Stop worrying about what might happen. You can’t worry and achieve peak performance at the same time.
What about you? What are those things you already know you should stop doing? Write them down and commit to stop doing those things that are undermining your own success.
4. Write down the 1 biggest challenge you’ve been struggling with in your business for the longest time.
I can’t think of any great success story where the person did not have to overcome a big challenge. Get clear at identifying what is the biggest challenge that has been getting in the way of your business success.
5. Write down 3 things you tried to do to overcome that challenge.
Just doing this one exercise alone has helped many of my business coaching clients come up with better ways to overcome their challenge all on their own. There is power of clarity that comes from simply writing down and assessing what you’ve tried so far to overcome your biggest challenge.
6. Write down 3 people you could seek out who has the expertise you’re missing.
Mature people know what their expertise is in and what their expertise is not in. Immature people (or prideful people) try to figure everything out on their own.
Your area of expertise may be as a lawyer or as a healthcare practitioner or as a relationship coach, etc. If you know you are not yet an expert in marketing or sales or in scaling your business, what’s stopping you from seeking out those experts?
Somebody out there knows what you need to do to get you from where you are to where you want to be. What successful entrepreneurs do is when they don’t know how to solve something,
they don’t waste months or years trying to figure it out on their own. They seek out others who have expertise in overcoming those challenges.
In closing, I want to encourage you to take action on these 6 steps today. I also invite you to take a small step of accountability and share your progress on my brand new Ask Yoon page. You can also post questions that come up for you during the process.
QUESTION: What is your greatest takeaway from this blog article? Please share your comments below.
ABOUT YOON CANNON, Founder, ParamountBusinessCoach.com My mission is to encourage, equip and empower entrepreneurs to help you grow a thriving business and life you love! For the past 25+ years I have started 6 different businesses and sold 3 of them (both B2C and B2B), so I completely understand the struggles you go through whether you’re starting from zero or growing a 6 and 7 figure business. I invite you to book a free sales growth strategy call with me below. https://www.paramountbusinesscoach.com/coaching/coaching-call-sign-up/
© Copyright 2021-2022
by Yoon Cannon | Business Growth Tips Blog, Marketing and Sales Blog Posts, Success Mindset
Feeling Overwhelmed?
If you find yourself feeling stretched, stressed and overwhelmed from so much to learn when it comes to marketing and growing your business, I wanted to encourage you that …
You’re not alone.
I’ve been a business owner for over 25 years now and I still have seasons when I get that feeling too. And hundreds of other successful people do too.
In fact, I recently spoke to a CEO who signed up for my complimentary discovery coaching call. This guy is a seasoned entrepreneur. He has grown his business to 14 locations and he’s even authored 6 best selling books, so you might be surprised to know why he reached out to me.
I asked him … “what is the #1 outcome goal you would like me to help you achieve?”
His reply: “I’m feeling so overwhelmed with all of our new initiatives. I need a coach to help me make the best decisions in how I will manage it all.”
Yes, it just goes to show you that even “successful” people aren’t immune to feeling overwhelmed either.
So, if you too have been feeling the weight of overwhelm, my encouragement for you today is this:
#1. Accept it’s perfectly normal to feel overwhelmed in your business.
#2. Know that you’re not alone.
#3. Don’t try to battle through it alone. Reach out for help and support.
Whether you find a peer group of entrepreneurs for support or you looks for a professional coach, having a consistent person to hold you accountable can help you break out of your cycle of struggle faster.
And …
#4. Identify what your 80:20 is in your business and then focus on it.
Simplify your to-do list down to what critical few things you do that make the biggest difference to your success. Often times, doing this step requires the help of having a coach and/or accountability group to challenge you.
It’s a lot like watching the reality show on hoarders. If you have a hoarding problem it’s because it’s incredibly difficult for you to let go of things. You never see a hoarder be able to clear out their home all by themselves.
As a business owner, we too can fall into a similar challenge of not being able to let go of certain tasks you feel has to get done by you … or even done at all.
So, if you feel alone trying to manage the overwhelm in your business ….
- What is keeping you from engaging a peer group, coach or
friend to give you the help and support you need?
Share your comment below. I’d really love to know.
I’m in your corner,
Yoon ~
by Yoon Cannon | Business Growth Tips Blog, Marketing and Sales Blog Posts
HOW to get more referrals?
Get more referrals if you want more clients, so you need to get more prospects in your pipeline. If you want a robust list of prospects you need to grow your list of subscribers. If you want an easier way to grow your list you want to put out the right lead magnet(s) to insure you get more referrals.
WHAT is a lead magnet?
A lead magnet is your irresistible free offer that your prospects receive right away when they opt in with their email address.
WHO should be using a lead magnet?
Every small business owner, entrepreneur and self employed professionals who sell your own services.
WHY should you use a lead magnet?
QUESTION: Do you have a lead magnet in your business? If so, what is it you offer? Share your comments and questions below.
© Copyright 2021-2022
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